Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-09-15
RICHER THAN cRGsus.
Money Kings Who Flourished Before the
Goulds and vanderbiIts.

OOulds and Vanderbilts.
At the beginning of the nineteenth
century the Rothschilds were hardly
known outside of Frankfort There
they had little shop in the Juden-
gasse, wherein they sold old coins.
They have risen to fame that ex-
tends throughout the world, and they
have attained power which tran
scends that of Emperors or Cars.
Has this amazing rise had its source
in greed. in oppression. in the heaping
up and holding fast to riches! By no
means. Such qualities alone would
never have enabled men to do
what the Rothschilds have done. A
well-known New Yorker, long-noted
for his success. once said: THE secret
of wealth does not lie in knowing
when to hold on to money; it consists
in knowing when to let it 60"
What is more they have not let it 90
solely to Kings and potentates whose
gratitude when prosperous might be
trusted to reward the services EXTEND
ed in adversely; they have let it go in
open-handed and even lavish benevo-
lence in numberless cases where there
was little, if any, chance of their ever
being repaid at all. No banking or
mercantile house in the world has ever
given away SO much money in quiet,
unostentatious charity as the house of
Rothschild, although the splendid gift
of the American. George Peabody, to
the poor of London can never in this
connection be forgotten.
In 1904 Mayer Amschel Rothschild,
the head of the house, had become
rich and prominent enough to con-
tract with the Danish Government for
the issue of a loan of 1000, 900 thalers.
He had previously been made court
banker to the Landgrave of Hesse.
The latter, on the approach of the in
vading French, subsequently left his
entire fortune in Rothschild's care.
The French pillaged in every direc-
ton and the Landgrave fled for safety.
1t was years before he again spoke
face to face with Rothschild.
He took it for granted his money
was gone. mot so" said Rothschild.
''every penny is ready for you, with
five per cent. Interest," He hal con-
trived to hide the coin in cellar in
wine casks. Afterwards he sent it to
his son Nathan in London. Nathan
specialized with immense success, and
not only possessed the money to re-
turn, but had amassed fortune by its
use besides.
Mayer Rothschild died in 1912, aged
sixty-seven. leaving five sons-An-
selm Mayer, Solomon, Nathan, James
and Carl. The first staid in Frank
ford. The others founded new branches
OF the parent banking house in
Vienna, London, Paris and Naples. 1t
is this famous pentarchy which, car
rying out the parental plans, have
made the name of Rothschild what it
is. Their mother, Gudula, lived to
the great age of nincty-six--that is,
to the year 1919.
Every body has heard the tales of
how the Rothschilds got the first news
in London of the result of the battle of
Waterloo ; of their frequent employ
ment of carrier pigeons on this and
other occasions; of their corners" in
mercury, grain and many things be-
sides; of their adroit use of notorious |
enemies on the Stock Exchange and |
elsewhere; of their (this is imputable !
individually to Nathan, however) re-
fusing to operate with men, however |
clever. If they were unlucky, and so
on. Another odd thing about Nathan |
was his careful omission to state in his |
will the amount of his wealth and the |
precautions he took to prevent this |
from becoming otherwise known when |
he died. Il am as good as you," he
said to the Due de Montmorenci when
his title was granted. 'You style your
self the first Christian Baron, and am
the first Jew Baron"
Zone secret of Nathan Rothschild's
success" says the author of THE
Stock Exchange" 'was the secrecy
with which he shrouded all his trans
actions. and the toTtuous policy with
him the keenest. If he possessed news
calculated to make the funds rise he
would commission the broker who
acted on his behalf to sell half mill
ion. The shoal of men who usually |
follow the movements of others
sold with him. The news soon
passed through Capal court that
was bearing the mar
ket and the funds fell. Men looked
at one another, general
panic spread, bad news was looked for,
and these united agencies sank the
price. This was the result expected,
and other brokers, not usually en-
ployed by Rothschild. bought all they
could at the reduced rate. By the
time this was accomplished the good
news had arrived; the pressure ceased,
the funds rose instantly. and Mr. Roths-
child reaped his reward"
1t is proper to say of Nathan's son
Lionel, who subsequently, at the early
age of twenty-eight, became the head
of the London house. that he never
practiced devices like the foregoing
ones. He felt that the Rothsehilds had
outgrown the need for them, if there
ever had been any such need, and his
vast as they often We're,
included no detail that could be called
a trick or that was inconsistent with
the Hottest standards of commercial
honor. He died in 1879, after doing a
vast amount of good, and the destinies
Of the Lo ndon house fell into the hands
of his three sons-Sir Nathaniel (since
Lord Rothschild), Leopold and Alfred.
1t was in the person of Baron Lionel